Spray valve with non-metallic housing



Oct. 14, 1958 T. WARD SPRAY VALVE 'WITH NON-METALLIC HOUSING Original Filed Aug. 16. 1954 IN VEN TOR. [AWRE/VCA 71' /%11ea.

A Tram 4 United States Patent SPRAY VALVE WITH NON-METALLIC HOUSING Lawrence T. Ward, Portland, Pa.

Original application August 16, 1954, Serial No. 450,177,

now Patent No. 2,788,925, dated April 16, 1957. Divided and this application July 31, 1956, Serial No. 601,292

3 Claims. (Cl. 299-95) This invention relates to metered spray valves and is a division of Serial No. 450,177 filed August 16, 1954, now U. S. Patent No. 2,788,925.

It is an object of this invention to provide a spray valve for narrow mouth bottles.

It is another object to provide a spray valve having a minimum number of metal elements in contact with the fluid being dispensed.

It is another object to provide a spray valve and bottle container assembled unit adapted to dispense medicinally pure fluid.

These and other objects of this invention will become apparent upon reading the following disclosure taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which;

Fig. 1 is a side elevation view showing the valve secured to a narrow mouth glass bottle and showing in section the finger knob and the manner of securing an actuating spring exteriorly of the valve,

Fig. 2 is a section view of a modified spray valve having a coil spring disposed in the valve housing and showing the manner of hermetically sealing and securing said valve to the mouth of the glass bottle,

Fig. 3 is a vertical view similiar to Fig. 2 but showing the valve in the operating or dispensing position with the valve plunger depressed to cut-oft liquid communication between the valve and the syphon tube,

Fig. 4 is a vertical section view of the valve of Fig. 1 employing a bow-spring disposed exteriorly of the valve housing and showing a modified valve housing and valve plunger and deleting the finger knob of Fig. 1 for purposes of clarity of detail and Fig. 5 is a view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 4 and showing the manner of securing the bow-spring to the valve plunger.

The housing of the valve of this invention is made of non-metal material preferably plastic or rubber but other material such as glass is operable. Moreover, a nonmetallic value plunger made, for example, from glass is advantageous and operable in this invention.

Referring to the drawing, the valve of this invention may be provided with spring means 30 disposed exteriorly of the valve and out of contact with tthe fluid being dispensed or coil spring means 25 disposed interiorly of the valve housing and in contact with the fluid being dispensed may be employed. Where coil spring means are employed they are made of non-corrosive material, for example, stainless steel.

The bottle of glass is provided with a conventional narrow mouth aperture having a wide mouth rim 10X provided with a recessed ledge 10Y.

Referring to the valve modification shown in closed or non-spraying position in Fig. 2 and in open or spraying position in Fig. 3, a plastic tubular valve housing 13 is provided with an integral horizontally disposed lip 14. The housing 13 is further provided with a transverse wall 13X having an a erture 16 therein communicating with the cylindrical metering chamber formed by housing Wall 15. The diameter of the cylindrical metering chamber is ice 2 larger than that of the aperture 16 and the chamber wall 15 meets the outer edge of transverse wall 13X.

The housing lip 14 is disposed upon the bottle rim 10X and is in part provided with an annular aperture formed by cylindrical wall 14X and horizontal or transverse wall 14Y in which a sealing ring 24 is disposed.

The housing 13 is provided with a tubular extension 13Y having a diameter wall 17 greater than that of aperture 16 and adapted to receive a glass or plastic syphon tube 18 in press tight relationship.

The housing 13 may be provided with aplurality of integral spacer rings 13Z to eifect a firm contact with the glass container 10. i

This invention also comprises a plunger 19 having a top tubular section having bore-hole 21 therein said borehole communicating at its base with a lateral conduit 22 to the outside plunger top Wall. The plunger 19 is further provided with an enlarged collar 23 integral with the top plunger section having bore-hole 21 and integral also with a bottom plunger stem 19X of a diameter adapted to pass through aperture 16 and sealingl'y cut-off the metering chamber from the syphon tube fluid. Thus plunger stem 19X is squeezed into aperture 16 cutting off communication between the liquid of the metering chamber and the liquid in the syphon tube and therefore functions as a valve. The stem 19X is provided with a conical guide point 26 which point normally in yalve closed position remains in aperture 16 with suitable liquid communicating space therebetween (Fig. 2).

The sealer ring 24 is disposed sealingly and in gas-tight relationship against the outer wall of the plunger top having bore-hole 21 therein. Thus a hermetic seal is maintained at all times at the annular area of contact between plunger 19 and sealer ring 24.

The collar 23 is of a diameter slightly less than that of cylindrical chamber wall 15 thus permitting liquid fiow therebetween.

A coil spring 25 of anti-corrosive material is disposed in the housing metering chamber and against the base of collar 23 and around plunger stem 19X and upon transverse wall 13X.

A metal ferrule 11 originally of a cylindrical shape is disposed upon housing lip 14 and the ferrule base 11Y is crimped or spun inwardly to engage glass container ledge ltlY. The tubular top 11X of ferrule 11 is crimped downwardly upon sealer ring 24 so that the valve assembly is securely held in the glass bottle mouth.

The spring 25 urges the top annular wall 23X collar 23 against sealer ring 24 in a hermetic gas. tight relationship when the valve is in closed position. Thus the sealer ring 24 effects a dual gas scaling function one against the plunger top and the other against the collar wall.

The location of lateral conduit 22 is such that in closed valve position (Fig. 2) the conduit 22 is disposed above the ring 24, but in spray valve open or spraying position (Fig. 3) the lateral conduit 22 is pushed below the sealer ring 24 and communicates with the metering chamber of housing 13.

The plunger 19 is non-tilting in both the valve closed position (Fig. 2) where the plunger is firmly pushed against sealer ring 24 by spring 25 and where ferrule top 11X is disposed adjacent the plunger top exterior wall as well as non-tilting (Fig. 3) where the plunger is held at two spaced apart annular grips, namely by the gas tight grip of sealer ring 24 and the wall of aperture 16 against the wall of plunger stern 19X.

In the operation of the spray valve by downward movement of plunger 19 the bottom valve housing aperture 16 in transverse wall 13X is cut-off first and before lateral c nduit 22 is pushed below sealer ring 24. Thus the metered or definite in quantity amount of fluid is cut-off from the container supply source before it is dispensed from the plunger 19 by way of lateral conduit 22. In other words, housing aperture 16 is cut OE and then continued downward movement of plunger 19 effects communication-by conduit 22 with the liquid present in the metering chamber of housing 13, said liquid beinga conventional spray propellant such as Freon i. e. dichloromonofiuormethane. The liquid then issues under its own expansive force up bore-hole 21 (Fig. 3) and into finger knob and thence as a spray from knob bore-hole 29X.

In the valve modification of Fig. 4, the valve housing 27 is a unitary piece with the syphon tube. Preferably the valve housing and its integral syphon tube 27 is made of plastic or glass. The housing 27 section is provided with a bulbous rim 27X used for gas tightinterlockingwith a rubber sealing cap 28Y.

The spring means in the modification ofFig. 4- is disposed outside of the ferrule 11 and is preferably a bow spring but a coil spring is also operable in lieu of a bow spring above the ferrule 11.

The bottom of the plunger 19X in this modification is provided with two closure rings 28 and 23X to effect a gas-tight cutoff of the'fluid in the syphon tube 27,although a single closure ring is operable.

The sealing cap 28Y of the modification shown in Fig. 4, is provided with an'integral ring 24X which functions identically to ring 24 of the modification shown in Figs. 2 and 3, namely ring 24X seizes the exterior cylindrical surface of the plunger 19 section containing borehole 21 in a gas-tight relationship permitting lateral conduit 22 to slide past to engage the chamber contents of housing 27. Sealing cap ring 24X also functions -to effect a gas-tight seal with portion 23X of collar23identically as for the modification of Figs. 2 and 3.

The sealing cap 28Y is held in a gas-tight manner against container 19 by ferrule 11, the tubularferrule projection 11X holding the plung r in non-tilting manner at all times.

It is thus seen that sealing cap 28! effects at all times a gas-tight seal between container 10 and housing 27 and ferrule 11 as well as between the sealing Cap 28Y, ring 24X and the plunger-19.

The bow spring 30 is provided with bifurcations 31 in its top and bottom arms, the space between the bifurcations engaging the ferrule projection 11X in the bottom bow arm and a groove 32 cut in plunger 19 in the case of the top bow arm.

Bow spring 30 may be replaced by a coil spring disposed between ferrule 11 and groove 32 wherein a conventional lock washer (not shown) is secured in groove 32.

The embodiments of Figs. 1 and 4 prevent the fluid being dispensed from contacting the metal spring and thus prevent metal contamination from the spring means.

This invention has been illustrated by a plurality of embodiments but it is not to be limited to these embodiments since it: is ofra more generic scope.

I claim:

1. A spray valve for propellant solutions comprising a tubular resilient valve housing; a resilient dip tube, integral with the bottom of the housing saidhousing having a central valve chamber having a centrally disposed apertured bottom chamber wall, said valve chamber linerally communicating with'the borehole of said dip tube; a conventional integral cylindrical plunger having a top tubular portion, a middle cylindrical portion of enlarged diameter and a bottom solid portion having a cone terminus, said plunger being disposed in said valve chamber of said housing with the plungerimiddle section being in space relationship to the chamber wall to allow liquid passage therebetween, said cone terminus being partly disposed in said chamber bottom wall aperture; a resilient sealer ring secured hermetically both around said housing and around said plunger top portion; andspring means disposed around said plunger for urgingsaid plunger outwardly continuously from saidvalve chamber to effect a fluid tight seal between the plunger middle portion and said sealer ring.

2. The aerosol combination of'the spray valve of claim 1; a bottle receiving said valve housing and hermetically secured to. said sealer ring around the opening of said bottle; and a metal cylindrical ferrule disposed around the top portion of said plunger and upon said sealer ring securing hermetically said sealer ring to said bottle.

3. The valve of claim 1 wherein said housing integral with the dip tube has the configuration of a thistle tube, said sealer ring being sealed hermetically and slidably forming selectively a valve seat with said middle plunger portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,667,991 Boyer Feb. 2; 1954 2,701,163 'Teller et al Feb. 1, 1955 2,721,010 Meshberg Oct. 18, 1955 2,744,665 Carlson May& 1956 2,746,792 St. Germain May 22, 1956 

